Youth roundup: Local athletes bring home several jiu-jitsu medals

Davis 6-year-old Julian Lopez takes down his opponent in the white belt light feather division finals at the recent American Cup in San Jose. Lopez won the match to earn a gold medal. Barbara Hammond/Courtesy photo

Seven young athletes from the Nova Geração Davis Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy put on a great show at the American Cup BJJ Tournament on Saturday in San Jose.

Local Sophie Han, 14, took second place in the girls mixed belt light division, while 12-year-old Natalie Han finished third despite being the only female in the kids mixed belts light division.

The younger Han won her first match with an impressive submission, then lost a close semifinal match to the eventual division champion.

Davis athlete Dennis Fineberg, 10, used a solid performance in the finals of the kids grey belt super heavy division to secure the team’s first gold medal. Another local 10-year-old, Lucas Sebano, followed with a silver medal in the kids grey belt light division and Emily Hernandez, 10, took second in the kids white belt rooster division following an exciting, technical final match.

Among 6-year-old local competitors, Julian Lopez dominated the kids white belt light feather division final, narrowly missing two submissions and securing the team’s second gold while Haley Bernauer capture second place in the kids white belt middle division.

Diamonds gymnastics

Two Davis Diamonds gymnasts reached the podium as a crew of nine locals finished their season at the Xcel State Championships last weekend at Del Oro High. All but two of the Diamonds gymnasts qualified for the regionals, set for later this month in Tucson, Ariz.

Leading the way for Davis was Kyra Mayfield, whose explosive, high-flying Yamashita vault earned a season-high 9.575 and a state title in the platinum division.

Her teammate Gabriela Caceres-Fernandez grabbed bronze medals on both vault and beam to take second in the silver division junior C all-around (37.0).

In the platinum events, Diamond Lainey Swanson used four strong performances, including a ninth-place vault (9.2), to total a 34.775 in the all-around, while Mayfield’s gold and an 8.875 (eighth place) on beam put her at 34.525 all-around.

Davis’ youngest silver athlete, Elisa Bourne, put up a 9.35 on bars and an 8.6 on floor, while teammate Elena Phillips’ best meet of the year (34.95 all-around) included a 9.175 on junior B bars and an 8.9 on floor.

Additionally, Alexandra Freedland-Wolford placed seventh on vault and eighth on floor (9.05) to total a ninth-place 35.9 in the all-around, while Emma Thompson’s bars performance of 9.375 highlighted her 34.425 all-around score.

In junior D, Diamond Maya Dhond swung to fourth on bars (9.575), earned seventh on floor and scored a 35.275 in the all-around.

NorCal Extreme hockey

Two NorCal Extreme Roller Hockey Club teams combined to win five games at the NARCh Regional Qualifier in San Jose late last month.

The local 16U squad opened with three straight wins in round-robin play — topping the Beauts (3-2) the Stockton Junior Thunder (7-4) and the San Jose Junior Sharks, 3-2 — before being knocked out.

NorCal’s Joe Blakewell won the top scorer award for the silver division after scoring five goals and handing out five assists, while Ryan Kowta (two goals and an assist) and Sam Blakewell (two goals) also had big tournaments. Ricky Pacciorini, Henry Campbell and Dalton Byard each added a goal and an assist, Dylan Lee tallied once and Tyler Schafer handed out an assist for the Extreme.

The NorCal 14U team finished second in the silver division, with a 2-3 record.

Bouncing back from two early losses, the Extreme defeated the Silicon Valley Quakes, 6-2, then won a semifinal rematch by the same score. The locals then lost the championship contest, 7-3.

Leading the NorCal offense were Sam Blakewell (two assists) and Jake Kirby (one assist), with four goals each, and Michael Cognetti, who posted three goals. Brandon Pacciorini and Jack Shields contributed two goals and an assist each.

Also for the Extreme, Nick Blakewell had three assists and Thomas Witham added a goal and an assist. Tyler Rickert tacked on an assist and defended well in front of Max Muller, who had a save percentage of 86 in round-robin play.

Local golf

Two local youth golfers played in the First Tee of Greater Sacramento season opener at Rocklin Golf Course recently, with Davis High sophomore Sam Yamauchi not only topping the 27-man field in the 14-15 division with a 72, but winning a playoff against the 16-18 champions to capture the overall boys title.

Also competing at the tournament was Davis 13-year-old Griffin Long, who battled the wind to shoot an 81. The score was good for third place in the 12-13 division.

After winning his division, Yamauchi took on Brandon Ropp of Folsom in a sudden-death playoff. On the par-5 first hole, Yamauchi reached the green in two, then just missed an 8-footer for eagle. His tap-in for birdie was still good enough to win the matchup and put him first among all 56 tournament competitors.

Hawks soccer

The Davis Hawks, a U10 boys team, went all the way to the championship match at last weekend’s Pleasant Hill Soccerfest, eventually taking second.

In the final match, the locals faced a Diablo squad that had beaten them, 6-0, in a tournament title game last month. This time, the teams played a scoreless opening period before Davis broke through in the second quarter when Hawks keeper Ben Riely hit striker Colin Morris with a punt from the goal box. Morris collected the ball past midfield and outpaced the defense before finding the back of the net.

Diablo tied the game before the end of the first half and after the break, the defenses took over. For the locals, Josiah McCarthy and Asher Rose were stellar in the backfield as Davis keeper Colin Walsh kept a clean sheet through the end of regulation.

The match was tied through two overtime periods before Diablo won, 1-0, in a shootout.

On their way to the championships contest, the Hawks posted wins over Pleasant Hill (4-1), the Davis Ninjas (3-2) and tied Concord, 4-4. Connor Beck (six goals) and Jason King (three) paced the Hawks’ offense throughout the event.

Knights U15 lacrosse

The Davis Knights’ U15 boys lacrosse team went on the road Sunday to edge Walnut Creek, 7-5, in Concord.

Both squads featured tough defenses, but local standouts Nathan Soeth, Casey Aikawa and Cole Koeberer still managed to find the net.

Meanwhile, Davis goalie Wade Matern stopped 10 Warrior shots, getting help on one occasion when Owen Musgrove snatched up a ball that was bouncing loose in front of the net and sent it back over his shoulder and out of danger.

The Knights’ persistent face-off wins kept pressure on Walnut Creek and the Davis victory sent them to the locals to the playoffs.

Knights U13 lacrosse

The Davis Knights’ 13U Blue boys team won two of three games last weekend at Playfields Park, with its only loss coming to the Davis Knights White squad.

The Davis Blue team opened with a 6-2 victory over El Dorado Hills on Saturday as Sean Smith scored twice and won four draws. Local goalie Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan made six saves, before Tanner McNamara relieved and stopped four shots.

Also for the Knights, Justin Qvistgaard contributed a goal and three assists, while Nick Mahoney, Logan McNamara and Tanner McNamara each scored once and offensive pressure came from Kevin Halozan, Morgan Heard and Cayden Hotaling.

In a 14-0 win over Stockton the next day, Christian-Lichtenhan kept a clean sheet in goal, while Tanner McNamara scored four times on seven shots. Hudson Garland had a goal and an assist, Lucas Griffiths found the net twice and Corbin Russo tallied a goal and won all three of his face-offs. Key single goals came from Stanly Topete and Kyle Difuntorum, with Charlie Streeb taking five shots on goal and Lucas Kinder providing offensive pressure.

In the all-Davis matchup the White team posted a 3-0 win.

Alliance soccer

The Davis Alliance U14 girls soccer team is looking for select-level players interested in joining the team for the spring season and beyond.

The Copper-level squad invites players to come to training sessions on Monday and Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Walnut Fields, on Lillard Drive near Cowell Blvd.